La Grange
by Tori Yuki Ichimura
Summary: A sci-fi for all those interested in the real-life science of Gundam Wing. Bios and science in first chapter, the good stuff in the second.
1. The Intro

**Science Fiction Story**

**Time: **Post Apocalypse 85

**Setting:** Colony X/1999 at La Grange Point 2

                                    +

                  undisclosed location on Earth

**Characters: **

15-year-old Colonist Juni Darlain

19-year-old Machiavellian Expansion Hegemony (M.E.H.) Lieutenant Tori Yuki Ichimura

**Science: **La Grange Points: In simple terms, a pocket of gravity between the Earth and Moon where an object such as a space colony could remain at a fixed position relative to the Earth and the Moon. La Grange Points L1, L2, and L3 are stable perpendicularly to the Earth-Moon axis, but should something interfere with the line-up, the points would loose stability. Those are points of unstable equilibrium.

         The points L4 and L5, located at equivalent distances from the Earth and Moon are points of stable equilibrium. Should an object at either point be displaced, it would return to its original position.

         As for the Colonies themselves, artificial gravity is created by the perpetual rotation of the Colony upon its axis using the centrifugal effect.

         To knock such an establishment from its position (a Colony of unstable equilibrium would be the ideal), first the rotation of a Colony is increased. Then, the balancing mechanism is destroyed, hurtling the Colony towards Earth.

**Plot:   **Most of Earth's citizens had migrated to space colonies after World War IV rendered the planet nearly uninhabitable because of a severe decline in animal and plant life. Earth managed to regain some of its former life and power with help from the Colonies, but the Colonies continued to look down on the Earth as only a minor nation. The Colonies wanted to rule the Earth. A war sprung up between the two powers in the 84 p.a. (Post Apocalypse).****

As a last-ditch effort, the Imperial Space Unified Nation (ISUN) decides to drop a Colony onto Earth. Such an impact would bring about a nuclear winter. ISUN chooses a defective, poverty-stricken third-world Colony in the less stable L2 cluster. 

         The inhabitants of this Colony are blissfully unaware of this decision until the gravity in the Colony increases and their meager technology malfunctions. Juni, just one of the many residual war orphans, takes it upon herself to right the Colony before it's sent hurtling into Earth, but all her efforts seem hopeless until she receives a cryptic message. With the help and guidance of Lieutenant Ichimura who offers her instructions through computers she's hacked, can Juni save the Colony and Earth from a Second Apocalypse?

                                                                                 Ŧøяϊ Ұữҝϊ Ї¢ħϊмůяą

[A/N: The assignment was to write a science fiction story with real scientific facts. Also, you had to include yourself as a character to show how you would react. Graded for science and literature combination. And, NO, I am not the main character. If I was, I would have gotten lost in my house and everyone would have died.]

**Tribute to: **Gundam Wing, X/1999, and Trigun.


	2. The Story

            "Earth has become too much of a threat!" a man of medium build with graying hair cried as he leapt to his feet and slammed his fists down on the table before him. "We cannot allow this war to continue any longer! After all we've done for them, they cannot accept our rule! The tension has become too much over the years. The citizens have gone beyond minor revolts. They've begun to attack our terrestrial military bases and steal weapons only to turn them against us!"

            The dark-haired woman across the table gave the man a level stare. "Marshall Richards, these are select groups of people and they do not represent the views of all Earth's citizens. If you would take a moment to consider perhaps-" 

            "I have taken moment after moment to consider things and nothing has come of it! While I sit here thinking of excuses not to obliterate your planet all together, the people of Earth are perpetually contriving new ways to justify my destroying the lot of them, Ambassador Ichimura."

            "I refuse to sit here and let you speak of your fellow humans in such a fashion!"

            "Then go," Marshall Richards replied, walking to the conference room door and opening it. Ambassador Ichimura gathered her papers under one arm and stormed out into the hall, not giving the man a second glance. The door shut noiselessly behind her.

            "I can't stand that man…" she hissed, flicking a glance towards the room. "I'm going back to Earth. Forget the Imperial Space Unified Nation."

Ф

"Hmmm… MEH and ISUN are at it again…" Juni said thoughtfully as she gazed up at the huge transmission screen mounted on the wall of an abandoned building. The picture was snowy and she could hardly read the subtitles, but she got the gist of the announcement from the pictures shown. "I hope they kill each other."

            She was about to turn away and continue her walk when another screen, mounted in a store window, caught her attention. Pressing her face against the glass, she watched the clips of armed soldiers firing on one another. "Woah… .45 long Colts… .88 caliber machine guns… Browning guns… Doberguns… Chain rifles… Tommy guns… Gatling guns… M16s… M60s… M14s- HEY!" The screen switched off, dragging the girl out of her weapon-induced internal dream sequence.

            The electricity was out, and for a few minutes Colony X/1999 was plunged in darkness. Then, the back-up generators kicked up and a few dim lights blinked into existence. "Weird…" she mumbled, pulling off her black hat, scratching her head, and replacing it.

Ф

            "What do you mean they're dropping a Colony onto Earth!?" Ambassador Ichimura yelled, leaning in closer to the transmission screen sitting on the tray table in front of her. 

            "ISUN has recalled all its soldiers, feigning a retreat. They're looking to take out all of earth in one fell swoop," replied the African man on the screen.

            "They're not only going to destroy life on Earth, but sacrifice a Colony full of people as well?"

            "This is war. It's a small matter, sacrificing the general public. I advise you to return to the Colonies and take shelter. We'll do all we can to stop them, but I can't make any promises. If they were to knock a Colony out of orbit at one of the less stable La Grange points, L1, L2, or L3, there would be no way of returning it to its original position."

            "Commander Evans, permission requested to return to Earth," the young woman frowned, fixing him with a stern glare.

            "Permission granted, Lieutenant Ichimura, you stubborn idiot, but we don't have much time." 

"Understood, sir." She snapped a salute and turned off the screen, heaving a sigh of relief and settling back into her seat. "If I'm going to die anywhere, it's not going to be in this frozen, God-forsaken wasteland…" 

ф

            Juni hurried the rest of the way home, but it wasn't a place most people would be eager to get to. Pushing open one heavy metal door, careful to avoid the shattered glass that remained in the welded silhouettes of saints and doves, she shouldered her way inside and took off her hat.

            "Afternoon, Father," she smirked, glancing at the wooden crucifix mounted on the far wall behind the disintegrating alter. Her refuge was a small chapel, abandoned long ago after people could no longer remember a reason for religion. The pews and anything else of value had been carried off after the priest died, leaving the small room completely barren except for the pile of blankets in the corner where Juni slept.

            Her parents had both been part of ISUN's terrestrial military and had been killed when a rebel extremist group blew the entire base up, leaving her an orphan. That was two years ago. Now she was fifteen and had managed to piece her life back together. Without anyone else's help, mind you.

            The blue-eyed girl smiled to herself, fingering the two military dog tags around her neck. Presents from ISUN that helped create the illusion that they actually _cared_ about the people whose lives they destroyed. Juni had to laugh at the absurdity. ISUN so much as arching an eyebrow at the suffering and death of fellow human beings? 

            Just as she opened her mouth to do so, though, the floor shook and she was thrown to the ground, missing the pile of blankets that would have been a convenient landing spot by a mile.

            "K'so. So much for clichés…" she growled, trying to stand up, but an invisible force was shoving her down. Gravity. It took her a moment to figure it out, but by then the pressure had eased enough to allow her to sit up.

            "Colony must be getting' old," she murmured. "Can't keep a steady rotation." For it was the rotation of the Colony upon its axis that created the artificial gravity using the centrifugal effect. Rotate too fast, and there's too much gravity.

ф

            "Tori Yuki Ichimura… It's really you," Commander Evans smiled warmly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations on surviving your first encounter with ISUN."

            The lieutenant frowned, slicing right through his pretense of confidence. "There's no time," she said, deadpan. Sidling around him, she made her way to one of the computers against the wall and switched it on.

            "The Machiavellian Expansion Hegemony can't afford better technology!?" she raged, kicking the modem to get it started. 

            "Lieutenant, I think you should get some rest… I know this has been stressful, but we have others who can do any assignment-"

            "There's no time! I need to do this, and I need to do this NOW!" Tori yelled. The computer in front of her beeped to life almost meekly, and she immediately set to work.

            "What's your plan?" Evans asked, leaning on the back of Tori's chair.

            "We don't know which Colony it is yet, so-"

            "X/1999 in the L2 cluster," the African man said, cutting her off this time.

            "Alright. We send out a broadcast to that Colony. We need to find someone, anyone, who can work a keyboard. Tell them what to do so they can go and reset the Colony manually."

            "It's good that you have a plan, because we have exactly 7 hours and 42 minutes until ISUN drops it onto Earth."

            "And you wanted me to go to sleep…"

ф

            Stumbling and dragging her feet a bit, Juni managed to make it to the doorway. The gravity was shifting again, the ground beckoning her to rush towards it. When she reached the iron door, she grasped at anything. Her hands found purchase on the jagged edges of the broken glass, and as she pulled herself up blood trickled down her arms. She didn't cry out in pain, but merely grimaced, fighting the burning of the wounds across her palms.

            The periods between gravity fluctuations were shortening, the weight bearing down on her heavier each time. Once the door opened a crack, she gave up on walking completely and rolled down the crumbling steps. Just in time, too. The corners of the building bowed and creaked and the roof caved in, dust not even getting a chance to rise before the chapel was leveled. 

            Other rotted buildings along the street were collapsing as well, and people lay sprawled in the streets. It was getting harder to breathe. Juni's ears popped and she swallowed hard. Things were falling all around her now. Chunks of debris, fragments of buildings… The lights went out again and the recycled rainwater in the sprinklers overhead fell, drenching everything and creating a sort of flash flood. She nearly drowned in the foot-high onslaught of precipitation.

            Slowly, the pressure eased, and Juni pushed herself to her feet. She flung her long, wet hair over her shoulder and wiped her still-bloody arms on her green tank top. "This is insane…" she grumbled, groping about at her feet for something she could use to poke her way along.

            Finally, someone had the sense to open the panels and let some natural light in. The stars shone through, reflecting on the ebony water and creating the illusion of space itself. 

            Her hand touched something and she hauled it up. It was one of the transmission screens she had seen before, but it was still on. She swiped at the grim-covered screen a few times with a corner of her shirt and blinked in astonishment as a figure came into focus.

            "Listen! If you can hear this, go to the main control building. Your Colony is in danger. Please hurry! I repeat, if anyone can hear this-" The screen scrambled and snowed out.

            "…the hell?" Juni scowled at the screen and tossed it back into the water. "Well, someone else can do it. I've been through enough…" The blue-eyed girl looked up from and over the star-speckled water. People were crying, children and adults alike. They held each other for comfort, whispered assuring words to one another. It was at that moment, Juni realized no one was comforting her.

            Everyone else had something to lose. She was alone, and no one would miss her. "Ah well, it's just by chance that I'm alive anyway." With that, she thrust her hands into her pockets and started off. 

"The Colony's one big loop, so I guess it doesn't matter which way I go…"

ф

            Tori let go of the computer's microphone. "Let's hope someone heard that," she said, turning on her chair to face Commander Evans, who was flipping through drawer of manila folders.

            "This should help," he smirked, stretching to hand her an overflowing file.

            "What is it?" she asked, shuffling through the first few pages of diagrams and serif text. Multi-colored tabs stuck out from the pile at random, marking different charts and maps and graphs and tables.

            "Information on the L2 Colony cluster. You should be able to find some more information on the layout of our little X/1999. If not, the data doesn't exist."

            "You're pretty confident in MEH's resources aren't you?"

            "I'm only going by the weight of the folder."

Ф

            "Alright," Juni nodded, cracking her knuckles before taking the lock of the door in front of her in her hands. With expert snap of her wrist, the padlock beeped and the door opened obligingly.

            She stepped inside and caught her breath as the sheer size of the room. Computers rested all along the wall, some of them destroyed by the gravity attack while others were in perfect condition. The lighted screens glowed an eerie blue, casting sharp shadows that collected in the center of the floor.

            "Hello!? Is anyone there!?" one of the computers called and Juni whirled around. All of a sudden, the blank screens were filled with the image of the same young woman from before.

            "I'm here!" Juni replied, not exactly sure how to respond to the call.

            "Good. I see you. My name is Tori. I've called to warn you that your Colony is going to be dropped onto Earth."

            "What!?"

            "ISUN is dropping Colony X/1999 of the L2 cluster onto Earth in order to eliminate the threat Earth's citizen's pose."

            Juni couldn't move. The words didn't quite register. ISUN? Bad. Dropping Colony? Really bad. Tori… help?

            "Are you going to help us!?" she demanded, choosing the nearest computer and gripping the monitor.

            "We need you to do it. I'll guide you," Tori replied smoothly, touching the ear of her headphones.

            "Uh… Sure. Alright."

Ф

            "You broadcast to the entire Colony and _this_ is what you come up with?" Evans scowled, pacing beyond the view of the Colonist. "She's only a little girl!"

            Tori ignored him and rifled through a smaller stack of papers, ending up victorious with a map of X/1999 in her hand. "First, you have to find the main computer. If you can break into the system, it'll buy you time."

            "The main computer?" the waterlogged girl on the screen asked, eyes darting frantically about the room.

            "It should be-"

            "Found it!" She disappeared for the computer's sight until another locked on to her and the view switched. 

            "You have to find the password."

Ф

            Juni scoured the keypad, trying to figure out what ISUN would possibly use as a password. I-S-U-N. _Incorrect Password._ L-a G-r-a-n-g-e. _Incorrect Password._ "Dear Lord, I'm an idiot." With that sudden realization stated and out of the way, she pushed the "Esc" button and the desktop opened.

            "Now what?" Juni frowned.

            "There should be an icon called 'Maintenance'. Open it." 

            The girl did as she was told and the screen filled with all manner of graphs. "Alright. Now we're talking," she smirked when she spotted one labeled 'Rotation Speed'. "I think I've got-"

            "Don't touch that!" Tori yelled and Juni froze. "Zoom in on the one labeled 'Scheduled Tasks' and turn the lights back on for starters."

            "And she said…let there be light!" The lights overhead sputtered and began to shine, and the room was bathed in a softer, yellow light that quickly put the bluish glow of technology in its place.

            "Very good. Now you can fix the rotation."

            Juni opened the graph below and dragged the Limit Bar down so it rested just above the current speed. "Problem solved." The brown-haired girl nodded to the computer and turned to walk away.

            "Where do you think you're going?" Tori asked and Juni stopped in her tracks.

            "_I_ am going to go wait for the lights to evaporate this new lake so I can rebuild my house. You got a problem with that?"

            "It's not that simple. This isn't even close to over."

            "I don't like your sense of humor, lady."

            "Who's joking? You have to get to the center of the Colony to regulate the speed. I only said this would buy us time," the Asian girl explained, referring to the papers in her hand. She pressed a sheet against the screen. A map of the Colony. "You need to get from here… through here… over this… into here." She traced the path with a black marker as Juni watched.

            "I know where that is…"

            "Good. ISUN will be sending people there to destroy the balancing mechanism since it needs to be done manually, so you better arm yourself. I'll copy-send you this map."

            "Arm myself?" Juni brought her hand to the black pouch hanging at her hip. "I've got a derringer."

            "Check the closets. You'll probably find something more useful," Tori smiled. A beeping noise announced the arrival of her map, so Juni snatched it out of the printer and went to the nearest door.

            Swinging it open, she stumbled upon enough weaponry to satisfy her gun fetish for about… six minutes. She smiled and picked over the shelves until she chose one that seemed right for her. A .45 Long Colt Eagle Revolver Arm Spectory with eight chambers and a black holster. "I'll… just save these for later," Juni smirked as she swung a magazine clip of bullets over her left shoulder and brought it up under her right arm, connecting it across her chest. 

            After rolling a few more clips up and stuffing them into her hip pouch, she returned to the computer screen. "I'm ready."

Ф

            "Do you think she just woke up this morning and said 'I think I'll be Al Capone today.'?" Evans mused, peering over Lieutenant Ichimura's shoulder.

            "Who?"

            "Never mind. Are we just going to let her go out on her own now? We can't keep in contact with her when she's on the move."

            "There are computers in the center control room. She just needs to get there and I can tell her what to do. Until then, she's on her own. We have to trust her."

            "I wouldn't trust her with a potato gun…" the African man stated flatly, watching as Juni meticulously cleaned and inspected the gun. 

Ф

            "So, uh, you're gonna guide me, right? Track me with your super satellites or something?" Juni asked, tucking the gun in its holster on her left hip and looking back to the computer.

            "We can't contact you, but we'll be watching your every step," Tori lied.

            "Alrighty. And what about ISUN?"

            "Kid, you shoot to kill."

            "My name's Juni. Juni Darlain."

            Tori closed her eyes for a moment. "You shouldn't have told me your name, you idiot…" she said to herself and then to Juni, "My name is… Nozomi."

            "Well, then, Yuki. I'll be off now!" The girl tipped her hat in a mock show of respect and waved the map a few times before sauntering out the door.

            The water eddied around her calves as she swished through the flood. Her only concern was to keep her gunpowder dry.

            "Hey, hey, whadda'ya know. I have no idea where to go," she sing-songed as she looked over the map. "I've gotta find a Lift Shaft first off. Then it's a short walk around the center to…" her voice trailed off as she looked around. "Why's it so quiet?"

Ф

            "Nozomi, huh?" Evans questioned, raising an eyebrow as Tori busied herself by rearranging all the papers in the folder. The Asian girl whirled on him, her unnatural emerald eyes flecked with diamond tears. 

            "Shut up."

            Commander Evans was taken aback by her sudden display of emotion. "I'm… sorry. I didn't know-"

            "You're right. You_ don't _know. So keep your mouth shut."

Ф

            "I woke up on a Saturday morning; I was dreamin' I was Al Capone… Rumors going 'round; gotta clear outta town. Luck must've been on loan. Here come the law; gotta break down the door. I'm not sorry anymore. Never! Never! Never-" Before Juni could finish her somewhat prophetic song, the Lift Capsule's doors slid open and she had to duck back inside to avoid a shower of gunfire.

            "What are you doing in there!?" a man in an ISUN military uniform demanded, refusing to lower the barrel of his weapon.

            "Ah, the shoot first, ask questions later type…" Juni stepped into the doorway, smiling a bit too much for her current predicament.

            "What's a kid doing hanging around in Lift Shafts? Get back down there to your hovel. ISUN's in charge now, so there's nothing to worry about." 

            He appeared to be the only one stationed at the post. She figured she could take him. "OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT OVER THERE!? IT'S COMING RIGHT AT US!" she yelled, exaggerating each syllable, and as soon as he averted his eyes, she made a mad dash for the shadows.

            "I don't see anything." When he looked back, the Lift Capsule was on its way back down. "Hm… Kid must've gotten spooked and gone home."

            Juni, crouched in the darkness, pulled out the map again. "Into the belly of the beast, you say? That's quite the bold statement." She paused a moment to consider something. "Why am I talking to myself?" she frowned as she climbed to her feet. 

            "Oh yeah. I have no one else to talk to…"

Ф

            Tori's eye twitched slightly as the computer before her beeped angry protests. She had spent the past hour trying to hack into the Colony's mainframe while Evans paced behind her, but nothing seemed to be working.

            "I hope that kid's alright…" she moaned, holding her head in her hands.

            "She's packing heat. She'll be fine."

            "But what if she's lost? Or hurt? Or dead?"

            "Why the sudden concern? She's just another orphan."

            Evans's words stung Tori. _"Just another orphan."_ Apparently, he didn't know why Juni Darlain was an orphan. He didn't know the guilt and responsibility that now rested on her. 

            "I thought I told you to shut your mouth…" Tori growled, attacking X/1999's supercomputer with renewed resolve.

Ф

            Fortunately, the gravity fluctuations had been occurring less frequently, but unfortunately the spells lasted longer every time. Juni struggled against the latest attack and fought her way through to the end. She would have a good half hour at least before it started up again.

            She sighed again and brushed her bangs out of her face. The poor girl had been laboring over a lock for several minutes before the shift and was slightly disappointed that she hadn't been given a chance to use her new toy when an idea occurred to her.

            "Ha-ah!" she smirked and whipped her gun out of it holster. With a few quick pulls of the trigger, the lock was gone. As well as the door handle, most of the door, a good chunk of the wall… "Overkill? Eh heh heh…"

            Shouldering the rest of the door inwards, she entered a room much smaller and infinitely less impressive than the first control building. A loud clanging and whirring caught her attention, but she was soon distracted by the computer in the corner.

            "Nozomi?" she asked, tapping on the blank blue screen. "Nozooomi?" 

            It was a few minutes before the Asian girl's face appeared. She seemed so mysterious against her dark, dirty room of a backdrop. "Woah!" she gasped, obviously not expecting Juni to be there. Good. Juni never liked to be predictable.

Ф

            "That girl's fast," Evans nodded appreciatively.

            "Okay, you've made it this far. The last part isn't that hard. You just have to get to the balancing mechanism and set the gauge by hand, but be careful. If the Colony's been rotating quickly, it's bound to be overheated." Tori said, ignoring her commander. She was just thankful the girl was alive. How long that would last though, she wasn't sure.

            "How will I find the gauge?"

            "It's always in the last place you look," she smiled patronizingly.

            "Show me the moron who keeps looking for something after they've found it…" Juni scoffed, the joke sailing right over her head.

            "Juni, just do your best. No one expects any more of you."

            "Yes, M'am!" Juni snapped a salute and was off. The computer's sight followed her as she hurried across the room before she disappeared through a door on the far wall.

            "Don't go making me feel guilty like that…"

Ф

            Swinging open the door, Juni found herself staring at what looked for all the universe like a giant flywheel. It was, in fact, the gyroscope that kept the Colony balanced, but one can't expect a plebian like Juni to know that.

            "Whoo! Now THERE'S a cool-lookin' thinga-ma-bob!" Apparently, there's not much you _can_ expect her to know. "Nozomi was right. It is really hot in here," she gasped, swiping at the bangs matted to her already sweaty forehead. "I'll just think of it as a big sauna!"

Ф

            Tori buried her face in her folded arms and wept. She could no longer see Juni and time was running out. Frankly, she didn't care if the Colony fell any more. She didn't care if she never lived to see the light of another day.

            "Lieutenant, what's wrong? Tori?" Commander Evans shook her shoulder. Why couldn't he just go away?

Ф

            "For such a (ouch!) megalomanical (owie!) organization, (ooh!) they're not (itai!) very well (mega ouch!) prepared," Juni murmured through clenched teeth as she made her way down the ladder toward the center of the chamber. The metal rungs were scorching hot, and even though she had wrapped her hands in cloth strips torn from her shirt, it singed the skin of her palms.

            The gravity was increasing a bit as she neared the center, but she knew once she reached the exact middle, there would be less pressure, so she kept pushing on. Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye and her head whipped around. ISUN soldiers.

            "Nooo… Not when I'm so close!" Juni yelled, pounding on the bars in frustration. Bullets whizzed overhead, so she was forced to lay flat on the ladder. The metal seared her torso and legs, but she was numb to the pain.

Ф

            "Please. Just tell me what's wrong. Tori! Tori, look at me," Evans coaxed, shaking both her shoulders now.

            She whirled around and slammed her fist into his chest. He staggered backwards and she rose to her feet.

            "You want to know what's wrong? You _really_ want to know? _I_ killed Juni's parents. _I_ made her 'just another orphan'. _I_ was the one who suggested we attack her parents' base. And _I_ was the one who shot them both when they begged for their lives. 

"They pleaded with me. First, to take them and spare the others. Then, to spare themselves because they had a daughter back home. Then, to take one of their lives in exchange for the other's, so at least their child would have one parent. And you want to know what I did?"

            Evans backed up a step, still clutching his chest where she had punched him. 

            "I killed them, Commander. I made that girl an orphan. And now she's out there risking her neck for me and for the world that's betrayed her."

Ф

            A bullet imbedded itself in the back of Juni's leg and she paused in her frantic inching down the ladder to bend over and inspect it.

            "Nice shot…" she managed, half-choked with pain. Liquid fire was shooting through her leg, but she pushed on. Gritting her teeth, she drew her own weapon and open fired. The soldiers scattered in different directions, obviously not prepared for armed prey.

            "Your only focus was the offensive. Overspecialize and you breed weakness," Juni smiled to herself, remembering the last phrase as something her father used to say.

            Her attack didn't buy her much time though. She only overcame a few more rungs before they began shooting again. Not much farther to the floor. The girl released her grip on the ladder jumped the rest of the way. As soon as her wounded leg touched the ground, the pain began anew.

            "At least on the ground I won't be as easy to hit," she observed casually, as if it were nothing more than a game of water balloons or paint ball. She cried out as another shot tore into her left shoulder and for a minute she paused to nurse the wound.

Ф

            Above the gauge was a small log computer. It was Tori's last hope. Evans had left her alone to cool off, and for that she was thankful, but the tense silence was too much. She had no idea what was happing on the Colony or what kind of danger Juni was in, but she longed to know.

            "Access approved! Access approved! Access approved!" she raged, pounding on the sides of the monitor. It went dark for a moment before 'Access: Denied' flashed across the screen.

            "Then we'll try this again!"

Ф

            Juni staggered towards the gyroscope, careful to avoid the constantly-moving rings surrounding its center.

            "Why do they have to make this so hard?" she moaned as she clutched her bleeding shoulder. Her makeshift gloves were better as tourniquets, she'd discovered.

            Finally, she made it to the gauge. It was a smallish, unimportant-looking thing mounted on the gyro's centerpiece, suspended in ZERO gravity. A simple flick of the wrist, and all was done.

            "JUNI!" a voice called and the girl's eye darted around the room before she spotted the source.

            "Ohayo, Nozomi," Juni smiled at the tiny screen above the gauge. Her eyes were slightly glazed, and her limbs were numb.

            "Juni, I'm sorry. For everything." Tori swiped at her eyes.

            "Hey, Nozomi means hope, right?

            "My name isn't Nozomi. My name is Tori Yuki Ichimura. It's the least I can give to you after all I've taken from you."

            "What're you talking about?"

            Tori caught sight of Juni bleeding arm. She was wounded, and whoever did it was probably still around. "Juni, you have to get out of there! You're in danger!" she yelled.

            "What, this?" Juni gestured to her shoulder. "Aw, it doesn't even hurt anymore. Don't cry over me! I'm okay."

            "No! Juni!"

            "Listen, Tori, if that _is_ your real name. (here she smirked jokingly) I'm hot and tired, so if you don't mind, can we continue this conversation later?"

            The Asian girl thought for a moment and a smile crossed her face. "Yes, we'll continue this conversation some other time, Juni."

            "I just wish I had someone to cry for me when I die." With one last know-it-all grin, Juni's eyelids drifted shut, and she was no more. Her suffering was over. The war was over, a stalemate that would most likely lead to a peace treaty out of sheer frustration.

            ISUN was overthrown and MEH disbanded. Soldiers were be sent home and families made whole again. There wouldn't be any more war orphans, or widows, or widowers…

And Juni got her wish, for though these great things happened, people on Earth and in the Colonies mourned the brave girl who gave her life for peace, and who did it with a smile on her face.

Ф Epilogue Ф

            The lieutenant bowed her head, and kneeled down to place a bouquet of flower against a small headstone. It read simply  "Take note. This is a result of War." 

With a final prayer, the Asian girl stood and turned to walk away without a single tear shed, but collided with Evans, her former commander.

            "What are you-"

            "I thought I'd find you here. I just wanted to talk, Tori."

            She turned away from him and swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "My name… is Nozomi."

            "I'm sorry," Evans whispered and placed an arms around her shoulders. "Please, tell me what's wrong…"

            "I promised myself I wouldn't cry today…"


End file.
